NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 19 – The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has called for strict laws and regulations to be put in place to vet churches.
Deputy General Secretary Oliver Kisaka said on Friday that the rise in cult- like practices in churches could be attributed to weak guidelines.
Mr Kisaka said the commercialisation of churches had contributed to the current upsurge of cult practices.
“Cults have thrived because Christianity is not a religion of enforced practices. Among the Christian churches, perhaps the single church where there is a measure of control and discipline management could actually be Catholic because you have a single leader around the world,” he said.
The deputy General Secretary said NCCK was previously involved in vetting new churches but that role was withdrawn during the past regime when the council became a vocal proponent of political and social reforms in the country.
In 2007, the then Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua wanted to introduce a Bill in Parliament that would regulate the operation and practices of churches in Kenya but it never materialised.
Mr Kisaka said a cult’s doctrines or teachings differ significantly from the orthodox teaching of Christ.
“Within the society today, the mainstream churches would be considered to be those who have by way of biblical interpretation come into a fair understanding of what the teaching of Christ is,” he said.
Mr Kisaka said people who joined cults were controlled by a lying spirit and did shocking things. He added that cults targeted people who were in difficult circumstances.
“The cult promises that they have a short-cut answer to the problem. Cults present a charismatic character different from Christ. The leaders present themselves as an answer,” he said.
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